There are five guitars, one piano and one of those plinky plonky toy pianos onstage with Benjamin Scheuer, a purple-haired, goatee-wearing musician from New York. He glides between them in his one-man storytelling musical, with confessional songs about losing his dad as a teenager, finding his Welsh wife, withdrawing from her, making it up to her, and adapting to parenthood.

At first it seems the schmaltz levels might be too high for Edinburgh crowds. His earnest, over-sharing style of romanticism could veer too far towards Hallmark and hokey, but the details add enough edge and honesty to offset things. London BDSM parties, creative frustrations (both his wife’s and his), male rage, shame, fatherly grumpiness, and some serious boyfriend fails are all part of Scheuer’s very real style as he works through his personal issues with the help of his music.

He’s previously created The Lion, a musical-theatre piece about his recovery from cancer so this seems an autobiographical bookend. Luckily the audience enjoys his candour and there are emotional sniffs, conspiratorial nods and a couple of disapproving gasps from the front rows as they sway along with his songs. His self-awareness helps lift the story from cheesy to charming.

A Mountain For Elodie, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, until 27 August, 8pm.